Tip for lacings



E. F. KING.

TIP FOR LACINGS.

APPLICATLON man AUG.22. 1919.

Patented Nov. 22, 1921.

gvwewtoz UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD rnANoIs KING, or rnovInnNoE, n ronn ISLAND, ASSIGNOR, BY manor AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T0 WHAT CHEER BRAID COMPANY, or mot-meme,

nHoDEisL-ANn- A-GORPOEATION or anonn ISLAND.

'TiTP-FOR LAorNe's.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 22, 1921.

Application filed August 22, 1919. Serial No. 319,153.

To all whom it may comma Be it known that fl, EDWARD FRANCIS KING, a citizenof the United States, residing at Providence, in the county ofProvidence and State of Rhode Island, have invented a certainnew and useful Improvement in Tips for Lacings, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of this invention is to provide a metallic tip for lacings for shoes, corsets and other articles of apparel and for other purposes, which, among other advantages, insures a firm union of the tip and lacing, with a very symmetrical finish, and eliminates the liability of the tips being stripped from the lacings by contact with the metallic eyelets in unlacing.

The invention cons1sts of a metallic ti so shaped that it may be rolled over to inc ose the end of the lacing and firmly grip the lacing, and in the preferred construction present a reduced and tapered point to facilitate lacing, and having a constricted butt that avoids all projections liable to come into Stripping contact with the eyelets in unlacing, as I will proceed now to explain and finally claim.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention, in the several figures of which like parts are similarly designated, Figure 1 is a perspective view of one end of a shoe-lacing having my tip applied. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the blankwith the end of a lacin in position to be supplied with the tip. Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the first fold in uniting the tip and lacing; Fig. 4 is a plan view Showing the second fold, and Fig. 5 is a plan view showing the final operation and finished article. Fig. 6 is a cross-section, on a larger scale, taken in the plane of line 6-6, Fig. 5.

It may be stated at the outset that the shape of the blank and the final form of the tip may be varied to suit different conditions and articles and the requirements of the trade, so long as the principle of the invention as herein explained and claimed is retained; and with this reservation and savin clause in view, I will proceed now to explain the specific illustration of the invention contained in the drawings aforesaid.

The lacing 1 may be of any usual or preferred material and shape, so long as it is capable of being gripped by the tip 2.

The blank 3 for the tip may have its opposite longitudinaledges substantially alike, or as shown in Fig. 2- substantiallydifferent, and preferably substantially straight and paral el at the wider or butt end andtapen ing thence to the point. The lacing is laid on the blank so as to extend about half-way toward its point, as represented in Fig. 2, and then one side 4 of the blank is rolled over and incloses the lacing end, as shown in Fig. 3, and thereafter the opposite side 5 of the blank is rolled over in the opposite direction so as to lap over the first rolled side, as shown in Fig. i, and then a further rolling operation closes the tip tightly upon the lacing, reduces the point 6, and constricts the butt 7, as shown in Fig. 5. The constriction of the butt, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, results in burying the metal in the lacing so that there are no projecting portions of the tip likely to come into contact with the metal eyelets of the article on which the lacing is used and so be stripped from the lacing. This constriction of the butt also permits of the interlocking of the folds of the tip, as indicated at 8, Fig. 6, to insure permanency of the tip in its finished form and also 'to insure the grip ping of the lacing without resort to the usual pricking or indenting of the tip along the edge of its folds, although such i'urther fastening means may be used as auxiliary to the constriction of the butt, if desired.

It is to be noted that the constriction of the butt does not present any cutting edges liable to weaken the lacing at the point of application of the tip, but the union of the tip and lacing is the result of a true constrictive action, having no tendency to cut or break the fiber or threads of the lacing. WVhile the lacing may extend to the point of the tip, it is not necessary to so extend it in order to secure a firm application of the tip thereto; and, moreover, by having the lacing extend only part way to the point it is possible to reduce the point to a very slender extension that will facilitate the lacing operation, without injuriously affecting the gripping or clenching effect.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 5, the tip is substantially cylindrical for a greater part of its length and where it incloses and engages the lacing, and tapers thence to the point. This construction gives a symmetrical appearance in addition to its utilitarian functions already described.

What 'I claim is:

1. The combination with alacing, of a metallic tip, formed of a blank of substantially conoidal outline or contour and folded about the lacing and overlapped upon itself and having its leading end or point tapering and its overlapped butt constricted about the lacing and gripping it superficially, the constricting of the butt serving to interlock the folds of the tip with one another and with the lacing;

2. The combination with a lacing, of a metallic tip folded about the lacing and upon itself, and having its point reduced and its butt constricted and'its folds interlocked with one another and with the lacing, the metal of the constricted portion oompressibly embedded in the lacing in the direction of the length of the tip and the extremity of the butt end of the tip thereby deprived of projections tending to operate to strip the tip from the lacing in unlacing operations.

The combination with a lacing, of a metallic tip folded about the lacing and upon itself and having its butt reduced and constricted about the lacing and superficially engaging such lacingwithout cutting into it and having its folds interlocked with one another and with the lacing.

In testimony whereof Ihave' hereunto set my hand this19th day of'August, A. D. 1919.

EDWARD FR NoIs K NG.

Witnesses:

JAMEs E. BROTHERS, J OSEPH AUSTYIAN. 

